VMware gives desktop admins more control with Mirage update

VMware has upgraded desktop management tool Mirage with bandwidth control features and also published APIs to allow sharing of the data it collects.

Mirage is a key part of VMware's desktop push. Its role is to simplify management by letting administrators create and update centralized images for physical and virtual desktops. They can either be completely under the control of IT or part of a BYOD program.

Mirage has been designed with distributed environments in mind. However, managing desktops across many branches is still difficult, and bandwidth is usually a concern. To ease these worries, Mirage 5.1 lets IT administrators control the amount of bandwidth clients consume directly from its management console, VMware said in a blog post.

The bandwidth controls can be based on categories such as subnets or Active Directory sites.

As part of version 5.1, VMware has also started publishing APIs. Anyone can use them to integrate their own systems with Mirage and get access to the data it collects. The APIs available now are only the beginning of a push to make Mirage more useful, according to WMware.

VMware has enhanced the reporting functionality, as well. IT can create and run reports that are output in HTML or CSV files. It can also improve control by scheduling automatic generation of reports, VMware said.

The upgrade can be downloaded from VMware's website. For enterprises that haven't purchased Mirage, there is a free trial.

For users who want to learn more about the admin tool, VMware is organizing sessions about it at the VMworld conference in Barcelona next month. The sessions will cover best practises and successful deployments, for example.

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My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.

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